Coal scam: Court to pronounce jail term of Rungtas on 4th April

New Delhi: A special court today reserved for April 4 its order on the quantum of punishment for Jharkhand Ispat Private Limited (JIPL) and its two directors in a coal block case after the CBI sought maximum jail term for the convicts.

While arguing before special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar, the CBI said the convicts - Jharkhand Ispat Private Limited (JIPL) and its directors R S Rungta and R C Rungta – had committed economic offences with calculated minds so they deserved no leniency and maximum punishment be given to them.

The convicts, who were held guilty by the court on March 28 of various charges including deceiving and defrauding the government to bag a coal block in the state, however, sought a lighter punishment from the judge claiming that no genuine bidder was deprived of his rights due to their acts.

"There is nothing on record that any genuine bidder was deprived from his right. We were not in conspiracy with any public servant, neither we induced anyone to do anything. Besides, we have already suffered a loss of over Rs 200 crore as we could not extract coal from the mine. We have already got the punishment," counsel appearing for the convicts said.

Rungtas further said that the principal offender was the company and not the individuals and added that a lenient view must be taken towards them keeping in mind their age.

"The convicts have not been convicted in any other case, neither any case of serious nature is pending against them," the defence counsel said.